March 24, 2015
CORVALLIS, Ore. - San Jose State's baseball team lost its first-ever game in Corvallis Tuesday night, dropping a 6-1 decision to Oregon State at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.
The Spartans' skid hit seven games, as they now sit at 7-17 on the year. Oregon State won its fourth consecutive game to move the 19-5 this season.
Sam Tweedt (4-0) stifled the Spartans' offense all night, working 8.0 innings and allowing three hits and a run while striking out four. Tweedt retired 15 consecutive Spartans from the third inning to the eighth.
"That guy was really good and kind of just overpowered us and dominated us," San Jose State head coach Dave Nakama said. "You have to give him credit because he pitched a good game."
Alec de Watteville (2-3, run, double, RBI) and Ozzy Braff (1-4, RBI) comprised the Spartans' offensive attack Tuesday night.
Kalei Contrades (2-4) made his first midweek start of the season and was tagged with the loss, but worked just one inning in a weekend tuneup.
Jeff Hendrix led off Contrades' lone inning of work with a triple to right center and scored on Trever Morrison's sac fly to right one batter later.
After Jonathan Hernandez took over in the second, Scotland Church lofted a soft liner into shallow right that Braff nearly came down with on a dive, but the ground jarred the ball loose for a base hit. Church then stole second, was balked to third and stole home as part of a double steal for a 2-0 lead.
Braff got the run back in the top of the next frame, driving a two-out pitch back up the middle to plate de Watteville, who got the Spartans in the hit column with a one-out double down the left field line.
Oregon State put the game away with a four-run fourth inning to run the score to the final 6-1 tally. After Kyle Nobach got it started with a double to left center and Church walked, three straight base hits, two on bunts, and a fielder's choice plated the first four batters of the inning. The Spartans had a chance to end the inning with just two runs across, but a mental error prolonged the inning by turning what could've been an inning-ending double play into a two-RBI fielder's choice.
"We just kind of find a way to give teams extra outs," Nakama said. "If we don't make that mental error, you take two runs off the board - but I'm not saying it's a different game because we still didn't do anything at the plate."
Hernandez settled down and lasted into the seventh inning, allowing just one baseruner in his last 3.2 innings of work. The 5.1-inning outing was the junior's longest since the season-opening series at LMU in which he tossed 6.0 innings.
"I would hope that gives him some confidence and an understanding of what he did right and how he can carry it out again and keep it going for us. That was a positive," Nakama said.
Josh Nashed worked the final 1.2 innings for the Spartans, allowing a lone hit and striking out a pair.
The two-game midweek series wraps up Wednesday at 5:35 p.m. at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.